08-09 Season

Sheffied Wednesday 2 Southampton 0

FOOTBALLING miracles do sometimes happen, but the chances of Saints getting one to keep them up looks very slim indeed.

The 2-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday was a crushing blow.

Not just to the league position, but to morale.

After the game the players and management looked like a bunch who had just been relegated.

In truth, they all but are.

As disappointing as this result was, it isn’t one game or one performance that relegates a team ... it is over the course of an entire season.

A dreadful day for Saints, who deserved to lose a game they had to win. It does need a miracle for them to avoid relegation now but they have to do their bit and win two games and hope for the best ... but the end appears to be very near.

That sort of play is borne from pressure and nerves and not wanting to make a decisive mistake.

It’s not a brave way of playing.

The frustrating thing was that on the odd occasion Saints did get the ball down and play they opened Wednesday up.

Wednesday didn’t roll over like Crystal Palace but they also didn’t look like they were about to risk life and limb to secure three points.

It was another game Saints could have won that they didn’t and in the end that has all contributed to the current
position.

The full relegation inquest can be saved until such a time as it actually happens, if it does.

For now all there is to say is things very grim indeed.

Despite playing such a long ball game early on against Wednesday, Saints did still look to be in the running.

Wednesday had the first chance on seven minutes when Luke Varney flicked the ball inside to Francis Jeffers but from a tight angle he fired across goal but wide.

Bradley Wright-Phillips at least delivered a good ball four minutes later with a low cross that nobody was quick enough to get in the box and on the end of.

Wednesday went straight up the other end and missed a sitter as a left wing cross found its way to Varney at the far post, but the Derby loanee sidefooted over from close range with the goal
gaping.

But the reprieve was only temporary and the Owls did take the lead on 24 minutes.

After Saints had lost the ball in a poor position, they conspired to allow Jeffers to thread it through to Varney.

Saints appealed he was offside, which replays later confirmed, but the flag stayed down and Varney went straight through
the middle and slotted low past Kelvin Davis.

David McGoldrick had a good chance two minutes later as he dived through a pile of bodies to win a header but put it over.

Varney had another opening on 31 minutes but this time he headed wide from eight yards when he should have scored.

Saints showed themselves the way ahead when they got the ball down and played five minutes before the break and created a
good chance as Rudi Skacel crossed low to Jason Euell. His shot was not clean and Lee Grant got down to save.

The saving grace for Saints was that they surely would play better in the second half and were only one goal behind at
the break.

There were early signs of that as McGoldrick curled a right-footed shot narrowly over but after that Saints created
nothing.

Instead it was Wednesday who got the next, decisive goal.

It was a shambles from Saints’ point of view as a simple throw in was defended poorly, Varney spun in and now in acres of
space nudged it around the advancing Davis and walked it into an empty net.

The looks on the faces of the Saints players at the final whistle said it all.